Masterchef: Chris Corcoran is our 2014 champion!

Guest judges from two of the north-west’s best restaurants have named Chris Corcoran as our brand new Stockport Grammar School Masterchef.

Chris’s two courses of oven-roasted pork tenderloin in a creamy truffle sauce followed by treacle sponge with custard were chosen as the winning dishes by guest judges Stuart, head chef at Manchester’s the Grill on the Alley, and Lawrie from the Grill on the Edge.

As well as the Masterchef trophy, third year cook Chris took home a £75 voucher for the Grill on the Edge, where a version of his main course will feature on the specials board on the day of his visit.

Lower school champion

First year pupil Felix Roland won our lower school prize for his pecan-crusted salmon with sweet potato and sunblushed tomato mash followed by a summer fruit crumble.

Stuart praised Felix’s “inspired” use of marzipan in his fruit crumble, saying that it was a technique he’d never come across before in all of his years as a pastry chef – but that it was one he might use himself in future!

Thrilled by the standard of food

Having already progressed through our earlier food identification round and semi-final, our six finalists had just one hour to cook their two-course meal while our guest chefs kept a close eye on their preparation skills.

Head of Food Technology Mrs Ruth Groves was thrilled by the standard of food our pupils served:

Chris and Felix were worthy winners, but our guest judges and us teachers all had a great time tasting all of our six finalists’ dishes!

It was Chris’s third time entering the competition and his food has got better and better every year. Hopefully our younger chefs who didn’t make it as far as the final will use Chris’s success as inspiration to come back even better next year.

Thanks again to the chefs from the Grill on the Edge and the Grill on the Alley for coming down to judge the competition. The children are always thrilled to receive such positive feedback from people who work with food all day, every day!

Previous Masterchefs

Chris takes the Masterchef crown from Francesca Bailey, who won our 2013 competition with her salmon steak with avocado and crème fraîche served with grilled asparagus followed by a saucy chocolate pot.

In 2012, Emma Winder was named Stockport Grammar Masterchef for her Thai green curry with sticky coconut rice followed by chocolate torte, while other recent winners include Luke Berry (stilton stuffed pear with a balsamic reduction then Patagonian beef with dauphinois potatoes) and Emily Banks (sea bass and lemon salt followed by caramelised peaches with marsala wine).

Thank you to the Grill on the Edge for their continued support of the competition.